No. 6 Notre Dame chasing playoff spot, No. 18 Army tries to stay unbeaten in Yankee Stadium matchup
No. 18 Army (9-0, No. 19 CFP) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1, No. 6 CFP), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, at Yankee Stadium in New York (NBC)
College Football Odds: Notre Dame by 14 1/2.
Series record: Notre Dame leads 39-8-4.
What's at stake?
Notre Dame has won eight straight and is trying to chase down a berth in the College Football Playoff. Army has won 13 straight, the longest current streak in the nation, and is one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the FBS. The Black Knights have already clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Dec. 6 against No. 20 Tulane and the playoff rankings could come into play as a tiebreaker to determine who hosts the game. Army is trying to knock off a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll for the first time since beating No. 9 Penn State in 1963. The Black Knights haven't defeated the Irish since 1958, the last time both teams were ranked entering their matchup.
Key matchup
Army has lost just two fumbles this season and leads the nation in turnovers lost. Notre Dame tops the nation with 25 turnovers gained and is fifth in fumbles recovered. The Irish recovered five fumbles and had an interception on Oct. 26 in a rout of Navy, which like the Black Knights relies on controlling the ball and had played largely mistake-free football while going undefeated into that matchup.
Players to watch
Army: QB Bryson Daily has rushed for 21 touchdowns, tied for second in the nation, and RB Kanye Udoh has nine. Udoh (856 yards) is on pace to join Daily (1,062) as a 1,000-yard rusher with five games left. Army has had two players rush for more 1,000 yards in a season only twice (1984, 2012).
Notre Dame: RB Jeremiyah Love has rushed for a touchdown in 10 straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in Notre Dame history. He can match the record set by Wayne Bullock in 1973-74 with one this week. The sophomore rushed for a career-high 137 yards last week, scoring two touchdowns in a 35-14 victory over Virginia. S Xavier Watts had an interception and recovered a fumble in that game and has four interceptions this season, seventh in FBS.
Facts & figures
The teams are meeting for the 24th time at Yankee Stadium. Notre Dame leads the series there 15-5-3, including a 27-3 victory in 2010 in the first football game in the current stadium that opened a year earlier. ... Notre Dame has allowed 14 or fewer points in five straight games. The Irish are allowing 11.4 points per game for the season, ranking third in the nation in scoring defense. Army is slightly ahead at 10.3 ... Army tops the nation with 334.9 rushing yards per game. ... The Black Knights have won every game this season by double digits and hadn't even trailed until falling behind North Texas two weeks ago in a 14-3 victory.
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